If there’s something that I’m really enjoying the most with Summer Anime 2014, it’s the exposure that Amamiya Sora and Hanae Natsuki are receiving. I don’t know whose idea it is to make these a pair in most of the shows this season but they are seriously doing a good job in portraying their respective characters as well as showcasing their capabilities as rookies of the seiyuu industry.

Now going back on some of shows I’ve been watching this season:

Aldnoah is probably one of my top favorites. It’s not just the compelling music by Hiroyuki Yoshino but the cast of characters and the cliched but well-written plot holds a firm grip on my attention.

If anything, the mecha setup for this series feel like a reverse-Gundam setting. Usually, in a Gundam series, it is the protagonists who have special units known as Gundams and they fight against mass-produced minion-fodder. But in Aldnoah, it’s the protagonists who run the mass-produced fodder against over-the-top machines of mass destruction and the catchy part of it is how they are able to outwit these guys despite their major disadvantage.

The MC for Aldnoah is no different from the calm-and-collected stereotype but what I like with his approach in particular is how he is able to stretch out his capability of “testing things”. He is able to grasp the situation from facts, analysis, observations and is able to do so at the heat of battle. He isn’t an OP character that is able to freely move his machine and go head-to-head against the enemy. Rather, he knows the limits of his equipment and tries to draw out that reasoning regarding the limitations of their enemies. And he has been able to pull off these tricks much to my delight.

I never expected Akame ga Kill’s episode 4 to be good. This series may suffer the case of being too faithful of a manga adaptation but the animated scenes makes me think otherwise how special it is in its own right.

Hanayamata may be the cutest thing that happened for Summer Anime 2014 but believe me when I say that Chiyo’s cute voice and silly interactions with the cast of Nozaki-kun is at par with the moeblob of this season.

I seriously don’t know what makes Chiyo so appealing to me. It feels as if her interactions are so natural, so authentic when compared with Hanayamata. I’m not sure if it’s the character itself or the seiyuu that’s able to draw out Chiyo’s charm but when I compare how she acts with those of Hanayamata. I can’t stop this nagging feeling that Hanayamata’s characters feels forced for some reason. Again, could it be the characters? The seiyuu’s acting feels forced? The mood of their respective series? What do you think?

GAR MODE: ON

And 4 episodes later, Naru grew a pair of balls.

I seriously did not expect this episode. I was expecting the (would-be) Yosakoi Club to be mulling over their predicament but this episode just went beyond my expectations by not just revealing Tami’s character but showing how much Naru has grown. And by god, that was one GAR moment right there.

Even though I bashed the characters of this series a few sentences up, I still enjoy this with respect to its character development. Set aside that it may be the voice acting that throws me off or the quirky personalities of the characters themselves, what I like with this series is how it values its characters’ growth and development.

I mean, episode 3 shows us a side of Yaya and Hana that they exclusively shared with each other and episode 4 shows us Naru’s progress and the plight of a rich girl who seems to have lost her way in the pursuit of recognition.

And regarding Tami’s conflict, well, I’m not really sure what her father’s intentions are but I think her father’s distance came from Tami’s decision to pursue recognition rather than individuality. From the backstory itself, she gave up the ballet that she loves so much in order to be fitting in carrying their family’s name.

Again, I’m not really sure what the deal is that’s why I love how this episode was paced. They delivered a narrative in this episode that progressed our characters and delivered a backstory that presented a conflict based on how the character interpreted a situation that I, the viewer, may have interpreted differently.

DAT BELLY BUTTON!

And this is why I am attracted to this series. More than the beauty of its character designs, is an engaging plot driven by the characters. I can’t wait for the next episode already! Will Tami join the Yosakoi club? Will she earn her father’s adoration once more?

That probably sums it up for this week’s coverage. Mostly, the ones I found interesting. A couple of stuff that I have to pitch in:

* The force is strong with Kirito.
* SAO II’s pacing is way better than how SAO started. Really big improvement especially the narrative.
* I don’t watch Sailor Moon Crystal due to me hating the CGI transformations but I do LOVE the PV for Moon Pride. Now that is where the CGI felt proper. Because in all honesty, I would’ve preferred if they went full Ars Nova or Sidonia per episode rather than one segment of it.
* Yugioh Arc-V is surprisingly enjoyable but I would’ve preferred if the protagonist has a personality that goes in-line with Yami Yugi or Yusei from 5D’s. I do love the cards they’re showing for this series but the characters are a different issue.
* Latest episode of Tokyo ESP felt meh… I don’t know which is better, Tokyo ESP or Bade Dance? I still believe in Ibuki Kido ❤
* Haven't watched the latest episode of Blade Dance and Sengoku Basara btw.
* Still haven't marathoned Gundam Unicon ffs!
* I'm actually planning on writing up another hentai post (last one was about Maybe and his works). I was inspired after watching Tokubetsu Jugyou 3 SLG The Animation and Yabai! Fukushuu Yami Site but knowing how much of a lazy ass I am, I wouldn't hold my breath… orz

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Now you make me want to try Aldnoah and Akame ga Kill ^^;. Maybe I’ll marathon them later, if I feel motivated to :p.

Amamiya Sora… hmm. Which other character else has she voiced in the past?…

As for Chiyo, my theory is that it’s the character. Though this is shounen material, it is written by a real female shoujo mangaka (she wrote Oresama Teacher). OTOH Hanayamata is seinen manga by a mangaka seem to be more successful with seinen material (also seem to be a huge Touhou fan, drawing lots of Touhou doujins :p).

Agree about SAO II’s pacing. Definitely a lot better than SAO. I’m not too impressed with the story/plot/world-building/etc though :p. Most things feels cliché and blatantly derivative, but I’m probably overly critical of this series ^^;.

Blade Dance looks decently paced as well, though somehow the comedy and voices feel like it could have been better. Nonetheless, it does seem to get better and better when more characters are introduced.

Aside from Fujimiya Kaori, Amamiya Sora did the side character in Mahouka (Honoka Mitsui). Other than that, she landed on some series that I’m not familiar with.

Now that’s quite the disparity between Nozaki-kun and Hanayamata. I think both are successful, or to an extent, extremely pleasing to watch based on their demographic.

I think one of the issues with SAO is how much it devotes itself in providing plot armor on its MC. And this makes Kirito’s interaction with any plot-progression or difficulty in general, a relative breeze. As for the world-building, I think they captured the feel of GGO in the span of 4 episodes. They were able to create the environment and the pressure of a pvp-type of game. Add the fact that there’s some hack going around, killing people or shit.

I’ve watched until ep 3 of Blade Dance and I’ve enjoyed how it was paced. The cliche banter among harem is one thing but the characters themselves are well-created imo.

I feel that SAO II would be better if it had a completely new set of main characters :p (though the fans would strongly disagree I guess ^^;). This use of such a contrived and cliché set up just to drag Kirito into another game to go save another “damsel in distress” doesn’t work for me (if it has to be Kirito, can’t he go save a guy for a change? Though I suppose that wouldn’t please the fans :p). As for world building, I like the presentation and the way the story is told (which is the main reason why I’m still watching this), but the content just feels blatantly derivative to me. However, as I said previously, I’m probably overly critical of this series :p.

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